'RBI examining remittances made by Speak Asia'

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, D. Subbarao, on Thursday said that the central bank was examining if the remittances made by Ponzi company Speak Asia were in order.  Reacting to the Headlines Today expose on Speak Asia, Subbarao said though the RBI approval was not needed for current account transactions as commercial banks were authorised to do that, it was scrutinising the remittances made by the company.  He said the RBI did not regulate multi-level marketing companies like, Speak Asia. He said the RBI has issued an advertisement alerting the public against falling prey to alluring offers. The RBI governor even sought the help of media to help the central bank in cautioning the public.

Not eyeing IMF chief's job, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia

The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Monday said that he was not eyeing up the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "I am not looking for any such thing," said Ahluwalia, who was being talked about by media as a potential candidate for the IMF post after the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sex assault charges.  Ahluwalia said he would wait and see how the Kahn's case evolves. He also said that he would wait and see who the IMF comes up with as the next head. The United States has been keen on having Ahluwalia as the IMF chief. A senior US official told Headlines Today that Singh was the best bet to head IMF at the moment. The official said that US was pursuing the policy for diversification on IMF and World Bank posts and hence wanted a non-European to get the IMF post.